This is a kid since day one has been deliberately been manipulated to failure and screwed by nearly every facet of his life to the point of making it a living hell, where he pretty much had the one chance in his entire like to say "FUCK YOU" to everything that screwed him over.

But yet, despite everything that happened to him, it was HE that decided that life was worth living and denied Instrumentality, even if his life up to that point was utter shit. THAT takes a strength that very few people have.

He did come to terms with himself, unlike many other characters. And he made his own decision in the end, which one could say was the right decision.

This is a kid since day one has been deliberately been manipulated to failure and screwed by nearly every facet of his life to the point of making it a living hell, where he pretty much had the one chance in his entire like to say "FUCK YOU" to everything that screwed him over.

But yet, despite everything that happened to him, it was HE that decided that life was worth living and denied Instrumentality, even if his life up to that point was utter shit. THAT takes a strength that very few people have.

This is a kid since day one has been deliberately been manipulated to failure and screwed by nearly every facet of his life to the point of making it a living hell, where he pretty much had the one chance in his entire like to say "FUCK YOU" to everything that screwed him over.

But yet, despite everything that happened to him, it was HE that decided that life was worth living and denied Instrumentality, even if his life up to that point was utter shit. THAT takes a strength that very few people have.

Yup, I feel the same. Shinji's the one who decided to live no matter what, rather than chase after secrets or some unattainable ideal. He's the only male figure in the show who's keeping it real, so to speak.

Snow wrote:Gendo could be seen as the ultimate chessmaster, with almost every move going according to plan.

Though that's more of an internet meme than anything that's established in the show. In reality he's more of an emotionally crippled dumbfuck who spins anything that happens as part of a non-existent master plan while he scrambles to avoid being shot by his bosses for his rather blatant treachery.

For my post-3I fic, go here.The law doesn't protect people. People protect the law. -- Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-PassPeople's deaths are to be mourned. The ability to save people should be celebrated. Life itself should be exalted. -- Volken Macmani, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of BantorraI hate myself. But maybe I can learn to love myself. Maybe it's okay for me to be here! That's right! I'm me, nothing more, nothing less! I'm me. I want to be me! I want to be here! And it's okay for me to be here! -- Shinji Ikari, Neon Genesis EvangelionYes, I know. You thought it would be something about Asuka. You're such idiots.

Bagheera wrote:Though that's more of an internet meme than anything that's established in the show. In reality he's more of an emotionally crippled dumbfuck who spins anything that happens as part of a non-existent master plan while he scrambles to avoid being shot by his bosses for his rather blatant treachery.

That's another perspective on it too, although i am personally in between these opinions. It is true that he does convince himself that everything that happens is ''according to plan'', but he does play multiple fronts at the same time and almost achieves what he wants. It's not luck alone.

This thread is inherently uninteresting, as there is so clearly only one acceptable answer.

"Being human, having your health; that's what's important."(from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi )"As long as we're all living, and as long as we're all having fun, that should do it, right?"(from: The Eccentric Family )Avatar: "It's my intention not to see you again" (details); Past avatars.Can't wait for 3.0+1.0? - try Afterwards... my post-Q Evangelion fanfic (discussion)

Voted in college to be Most likely to Take Over the World, how to do that however, will require at leastFour Evangelions. Thanks for the idea Misato-san!"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Said at the beginning of the nuclear age by J. Robert Oppenheimer."That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Words of Wisdom from German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

As much as I despise the character, Kaworu is obviously best boy. I'm surprised no one else has brought him up yet. Given the Christ associations and such, he's the closest thing there is to "perfect". Wasn't the original intention of the character supposed to be everything that Shinji was striven to be, or something along those lines?

After that, I'm with NemZ and I'll throw my vote in for Gendo. And then Shinji

That's the biggest problem with Kaworu, isn't it? He's an ideal and not much more. Less a defined person and more a bundle of ethereal romantic concepts that don't work so well in the real world. Soon as you try to make them work, or look at them with too critical an eye, the whole thing falls apart.

(The real reason I didn't vote for Kaworu is precisely because this is the "best boy" thread. Of course.)

What if... Kaworu bonded with Misato instead of Shinji, and the two of them were siblings? Father Brother Lover Mother (AO3, FF.net)The path to an alternate Third Impact has reached stage 19 (5/22)!

Rest In Peace ~ 1978 - 2017"I'd consider myself a realist, alright? but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist. It means I'm bad at parties." - Rust Cohle"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin"The internet: It's like a training camp for never amounting to anything." - Oglaf"I think internet message boards and the like are dangerous." - Anno

Voted in college to be Most likely to Take Over the World, how to do that however, will require at leastFour Evangelions. Thanks for the idea Misato-san!"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Said at the beginning of the nuclear age by J. Robert Oppenheimer."That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Words of Wisdom from German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Not only that, he has seemingly all the personality traits in perfection. A charming and talented person to every extent. Too perfect...? Yet he, like Ayanami, has a purpose to live. And he does complete his purpose by sacrificing himself, much to the dislike of Ikari.

Now that i think about it, Toji is pretty good too. He has his flaws, but is ultimately a kind and caring person. This, in a jocks disguise.

Snow wrote:Not only that, he has seemingly all the personality traits in perfection. A charming and talented person to every extent. Too perfect...?

Well, when someone tries to be too perfect, they tend to be hiding severe flaws of their own, which in Kaworu's case happens to be that he's an Angel sent to destroy humanity.

Also, Toji is a good choice, he admits when he's wrong, like after he decked Shinji, he apologized for being an ass. The caring person wearing the guise of a jock in a tracksuit was a stroke of genius not generally seen in media. Kensuke however is a solid no, he's a bit too creepy to be best boy. Neither is Nebukawa no Sensei, he's too boring to the best at anything.

Voted in college to be Most likely to Take Over the World, how to do that however, will require at leastFour Evangelions. Thanks for the idea Misato-san!"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Said at the beginning of the nuclear age by J. Robert Oppenheimer."That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Words of Wisdom from German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

This makes it sound like you think the show is wrong about one of its own premises, which is just silly. You're making the common mistake of forgetting that NGE has two definitions of "human" -- one that is the same thing as "Lilin", and one that is a bit more expansive (along with being a late reveal, though its existence is hinted at throughout the show). In episode 25, we're told that both Kaworu and Rei are human, therefore they are human, no ifs, ands, or buts. Episode 25' also makes it quite clear that all Angels are human, as well. This probably means that NGE wants the audience to think about what precisely it means to be human in a world where we're not actually alone, rather than just shrug and go, "Oh, well, it's not like so-and-so is human anyway".

(On this topic, NGE uses "human" and "person" interchangeably, so there's nothing to be really gained by arguing semantics. Keep in mind that this is Japanese we're talking about, wherein "person" is 人 and "human" is 人間.)

Snow wrote:Moreover, he is a result of an contact experiment.

Not sure what you're trying to demonstrate by citing the circumstances of Kaworu's creation, which point to Kaworu being at least half Lilin genetically.

What if... Kaworu bonded with Misato instead of Shinji, and the two of them were siblings? Father Brother Lover Mother (AO3, FF.net)The path to an alternate Third Impact has reached stage 19 (5/22)!

Reichu wrote:This makes it sound like you think the show is wrong about one of its own premises, which is just silly. You're making the common mistake of forgetting that NGE has two definitions of "human" -- one that is the same thing as "Lilin", and one that is a bit more expansive (along with being a late reveal, though its existence is hinted at throughout the show). In episode 25, we're told that both Kaworu and Rei are human, therefore they are human, no ifs, ands, or buts. Episode 25' also makes it quite clear that all Angels are human, as well. This probably means that NGE wants the audience to think about what precisely it means to be human in a world where we're not actually alone, rather than just shrug and go, "Oh, well, it's not like so-and-so is human anyway".

Not sure what you're trying to demonstrate by citing the circumstances of Kaworu's creation, which point to Kaworu being at least half Lilin genetically.